Another study demonstrated that rhein alleviated the autophagy of renal tubular cells in DKD mice by regulating the AMPK/mTOR pathway, thereby delaying the process of renal fibrosis.[35] A study by Qi et al[7] found that emodin reduced cell autophagy and alleviated oxidative damage in the kidneys of DKD mice by downregulating the expression of the mouse miR-21 gene. This evidence concerns the gene MTOR and renal fibrosis.